The Society of Experimentalists was founded by Edward Bradford Titchener in 1904. Titchener's design for his "Experimentalists" was that it be an ongoing workshop, with "members visiting labs, studying apparatus, and hearing and commenting on reports of ongoing research."

In 1927 the club was reorganized into The Society of Experimental Psychologists. The Society holds meetings every spring, scheduled by a member at the host university who serves as the chair of the Society for that year.

The meetings are plenary and involve papers from various members of the society. The society currently admits at least 6 new members annually from among the leading experimentalists in North America. It has a current membership of 220 individuals, about 5 - 10% of the practicing experimental psychologists.